“The poll found that a majority of black residents said the stop-and-frisk tactic had led to the harassment of innocent people, but most white residents viewed the practice as an acceptable way to improve urban safety.

Among all New Yorkers, 48 percent said the tactic was ‘acceptable to make New York City safer,’ while almost as many — 45 percent — deemed the tactic ‘excessive.’ Most of those surveyed rejected Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s chief rationale for the practice, saying they did not think that stopping and frisking suspicious people had lowered the crime rate or reduced the use of illegal guns.

‘Stop-and-frisk would be a good idea if they did it right,’ Jose Aponte, 64, a retired doorman who lives in the Bronx, said in a follow-up interview after the poll. ‘But it’s not decreasing crime or guns. There are more shootings every day.’”

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Why take the pledge?

Far too many Black youth continue to be demonized, criminalized and murdered.

Enough is enough!

In response to this intensifying crisis, the Black Youth Project (BYP) has launched “The Pledge.”

With “The Pledge,” we are asking individuals and organizations to close ranks around black youth and make a commitment to take action and fight with black youth as they confront a relentless crisis. We at the BYP believe that each person can make a difference by doing something!

By taking The Pledge we not only articulate our concern about black youth, but symbolically unite our voices with others who will work to confront this crisis.

If we each take action, whether it is starting a group, signing a petition, or mentoring a young person in your neighborhood, then we all become a part of the solution.